This invention relates to making an alkali metal and alkali metal carbonate catalytic system. This invention further relates to utilizing the above-mentioned catalytic system to reduce isomerization losses which occur during the production of alpha-olefins.
The production of polymers is a major industry of the United States of America. It has been estimated that the chemical production, in the United States, of a few of the more important plastics and synthetic rubbers, approached forty-five billion pounds, or about twenty billion kilograms, in 1989. These polymers are used in a wide variety of applications. For example, polymers can be used to fabricate such items as pipes, films, fibers, dishes, utensils, automobile parts, beverage containers, and assorted other consumer items.
Polymers, which are basically very long strings of molecules, are made by joining smaller molecules together. These smaller molecules, when used to make polymers, are called monomers. It has also been estimated that the chemical production, in the United States, of a few of the more important monomers, approached seventy-six billion pounds, or about thirty-four billion kilograms, in 1989.
Research has been done to try to make larger monomer type building units in order to facilitate the production of polymers. This research has shown that monomers which have the extra reactivity of a double bond in the first carbon position are generally the preferred monomer choice. The types of monomers are called alpha-olefins to signify that this monomer has a double bond in the first carbon position.
The production of these larger alpha-olefins, which are also called higher alpha-olefins has presented quite a few technical problems. One such problem is the isomerization losses that occur during the production of these higher alpha-olefins. In general, higher alpha-olefins are made from lower alpha-olefins. These lower alpha-olefins are called lower alpha-olefins because they are smaller in size than the higher alpha-olefins they are used to make. Under reaction conditions, these lower alpha-olefins tend to change their structure so that the reactive double bond is no longer attached to the first carbon. This structural change is called isomerization. For example, during a process to produce 3-methyl-1-pentene, which is a higher alpha-olefins, from ethylene and 1-butene, which are lower alpha-olefins, there are isomerization losses of 1-butene. Essentially, 1-butene undergoes a change in structure to 2-butene. This 2-butene is not as reactive as the 1-butene and consequently the 2-butene is not as economically useful. This can be graphically displayed as follows: ##STR1##
The above reaction shows that on the 2-butene monomer the double bond is on the inside of the molecule. In contrast, the double bond on the 1-butene monomer is on the front of the molecule. This isomerization of 1-butene to 2-butene produces a significant economic loss. Considering the many different ways that monomers can be used to make polymers, and considering the amount of monomers used to make these polymers, the losses that occur because of isomerization constitute an immense economic loss. These losses are then generally passed on to the consumer of the product.
This invention addresses this economic loss by providing a catalyst system to reduce these losses, the improvement being the addition of a metal oxide to the catalyst wherein the metal oxide comes from the lanthanide series.